The invention relates to a fluid control element comprising a housing and a control chamber which is formed in the housing and into which at least two flow channels open. In the control chamber, at least one sealing seat is arranged into which a to flow channel enters. Moreover, in the control chamber, there is a sealing and actuation element that is surrounded by elastic material and that is configured as a lever with two symmetrical arms, which lever is pivotally mounted on the housing and, in the simplest case, can be moved between a closed position, in which it covers a sealing seat with a seat seal located on the end of a lever arm, and an open position, in which it exposes the sealing seat.
Fluid control elements of the type described above are known from DE 295 07 380 U1. With these known fluid control elements, the flow channels and the adjacent valve seats are arranged diametrically in two approximately identical housing parts. The control element consists of a two-armed lever that is supported in the middle of the housing. One of the lever arms is moved between the two seats located opposite each other, while the second lever arm serves as a movement arm. An elastic covering arranged around the actuation element serves as the seal between the housing parts as well as the control chamber and the drive chamber. As a result of the diametrical arrangement of the valve seats, the channels in the fluid control element are at an angle in order to achieve a simple fluid interface in which all of the channels are lead out of the fluid control element in one plane. This leads to an undesired increase of the internal volume and thus of the accommodating housing.
An object of the invention to improve a fluid control element of the type described above in such a way that the fluid interface is arranged horizontally in a plane in a housing part without derivation of the channels. Due to this measure, the internal volume of the fluid control element can be reduced in a simple manner which advantageously results in a smaller housing size. Furthermore, with the fluid control element according to the invention, the number of components is reduced to a few parts, as a consequence of which it can be assembled simply and is better suited for mass production.
The invention provides a fluid control element in which the sealing seats and the adjacent fluid channels are accommodated horizontally in a plane in a housing part. Due to this measure there is made available an interface that allows a standardized coupling of the fluid control element to additional fluid components. In the simplest case, the second housing part serves as a cover. In a preferred embodiment of the fluid control element, the two housing halves are joined along a separating plane and can be manufactured simply as well as inexpensively. According to the invention, a combined sealing and actuation element having an outer part is clamped between the two housing parts, the middle of a pivoting lever rests on the housing on a support arm and, with its seat seals mounted on the side facing the sealing seats, alternatingly opens and closes the sealing seats to the left and right of this support. The sealing and actuation element is completely surrounded by a covering made of an elastic material in which the seat seals are integrated.
The invention is distinguished by the sealing and actuation element in the form of a two-armed lever that is provided with a support arm arranged at a right angle to the lengthwise axis of the lever and whose outer ends  likewise tightly surrounded by the covering  are pivotally mounted by means of this covering that is secured between the two housing parts. This type of support stands out for its great resilience, so that only small drive forces are needed, as well as for a precise definition of the swiveling axis which largely prevents uncontrolled movements of the two-armed lever in spite of its being supported in elastically resilient material.
The two-armed lever is actuated by applying a torque to the support arm whose ends project from the fluid housing. For this purpose, actuation arms follow the support arm and these arms can be controlled in any desired manner, for example, by means of an electromagnet, a piezoelectric element, etc.
In another embodiment, the drive forces and the locking forces needed to pivot the lever are considerably reduced by a fluid feedback. The pressure on the fluid control element in its holding positions is relieved in that, together with the lever, the upper part of the housing forms two pressure chambers that are completely sealed off from the working chamber and from each other by the lever arms. Each of the flow channels associated with a sealing seat communicate with one of the pressure chambers via feedback channels. The lever arm surface that faces the associated pressure chamber is thus subjected to a pressure that endeavors to press the seat seal of this lever arm against the sealing seat located on the side facing away from the pressure chamber. The drive forces to be applied to the actuation arm are correspondingly less.
The fluid control element according to the invention can be used to shut off, carry, throttle, switch over, mix or distribute fluid streams. The flow channels that open into the bottom of the housing preferably form a standardized fluid interface to which the other system elements with appropriate interfaces can be coupled. Depending on the intended use of the fluid control element, the support arm or the actuation arms is/are coupled to different drive units which are likewise standardized and thus interchangeable.